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The Healthcare system achieves an additional 3 billion which raises the Health Fund to 136 billion, thus avoiding the possibility of cuts compared to 2023 when the Fund reached 134.7 billion. The additional funds will be used in particular to finance the doctors’ new contract: a 2 billion match that will help increase their paychecks. The rest aims in particular to finance a plan to demolish the attestation list with a double measure: tax relief on overtime for healthcare personnel, but also new bonuses linked to cutting time. Also on track is the increase in the NHS registration fee that non-EU citizens must pay, which now rises to 2 thousand euros.
The plan to reduce waiting lists
Among the most awaited measures included in the budget are those of the plan to reduce waiting lists. In particular, the compensation for the extra hours that doctors and nurses dedicate to reducing waiting lists will be tax-free with a flat tax of 15%. In this sense, “the introduction of allowances for doctors and other healthcare personnel involved in reducing waiting list times” is also envisaged, as confirmed by the Ministry of Economy. To always reduce waiting times, the spending ceiling for the purchase of services – hospitalizations, visits and tests – from private hospitals is being adjusted upwards with an allocation that should be around 500 million. Finally, the issue of doctors’ contracts which more generally will aim to increase salaries: here the resources allocated exceed 2 billion.
The contribution of foreigners for treatment with the NHS is growing
Among the latest news is also the increase in the contribution that foreigners must pay to have access to treatment from the National Health Service. Non-EU citizens residing in Italy will be able to continue to register with the National Health Service by paying a “contribution” of 2 thousand euros per year, when today it averages around 1200 euros (the growth is therefore over 60%). «For foreign residents who are citizens of countries not belonging to the European Union – we read in a note from the Mef – there is the possibility of registering in the lists of those entitled to NHS services, by paying a contribution of 2,000 euros per year. The amount of the contribution is reduced for foreigners holding a residence permit for study purposes or for those placed with au pairs.”